How Many Helium Nuclei Fuse Together When Making Carbon
Nuclear fusion reaction of two helium-4 nuclei produces beryllium-8 which is highly unstable and decays back into smaller nuclei with a half-life of 819 10 17 s unless within that time a third alpha particle fuses with the beryllium-8 nucleus to produce an excited resonance state of carbon-12 called the Hoyle state which nearly always decays back into three alpha particles but once. Answer 1 of 5. Stellar Evolution Red Giants As with fission reactions fusion reactions are exothermicthey release energy. . When the temperature in the core reaches about 100 million degrees the helium will begin to fuse into carbon by a reaction known as the triple-alpha process because it converts three helium nuclei into one carbon atom. The large bright stars with a cool surface of 2000 oC to 3000 oC formed during the later stages of the evolution of a star like the sun as it runs out of H 2. This can then form oxygen neon and heavier elements via the alpha...